Rep. Raskin on Trump’s First 100 Days: ‘Hard to Find Something Good to Say’

BALLASY: “First 100 days, are there any areas of common ground you have with Trump, notable accomplishments? What’s your take?”
RASKIN: “Let’s see. Well, I certainly don’t want to crash our economy. I don’t want to crash the stock market. I don’t want to have a trade war against all world except for Vladimir Putin. I’m not into destroying the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or the Department of Education, or the Agency for International Development. But he has also backed off a number of those things, so when he did, I appreciated the fact that he was at least listening to the negative opinion of the entire world and the country about things like trade war and tariff.”
BALLASY: “Now, you probably heard many Democrats say China cheats on trade and they think there needs to be some pressure on them. Is there anything the president’s done on China so far that you think is a strategy that is worth pursuing and continuing on?”
RASKIN: “Well, I think you need to start with a real analysis of what the problem is and what specific issues are. And that’s — that’s the issue, that he seems to just pop out of his head with numbers. You know 145%, 10%, let’s do 5, 25. And I don’t think that’s the way we should be making policy. So, you know, I appreciate the fact that, you know, he he wants to — well, I don’t know, it’s hard for me to find something good to say. Look, I believe that the autocrats and the dictators of the world are on the March, including President Xi, including Kim Jong-UN, including Putin, and I think Donald Trump should get off their team.”